A bitter anti-inflammatory drug binds at two distinct sites of a human bitter taste GPCR.

Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs), a subfamily of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) expressed orally and extraorally, elicit signaling in response to a large set of tastants. Among 25 functional TAS2Rs encoded in the human genome, TAS2R14 is the most promiscuous, and responds to hundreds of chemically diverse ligands. Here we present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the human TAS2R14 in complex with its signaling partner gustducin, and bound to flufenamic acid (FFA), a clinically approved nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

How a Chain Can Be Extended While Its Bonds Are Compressed.

Extending polymer chains results in a positive chain tension, , primarily due to conformational restrictions. At the level of individual bonds, however, tension, , is either negative or positive and depends on both chain tension and bulk pressure. Typically, the chain and bond tension are assumed to be directly related.

Facile mechanochemical cycloreversion of polymer cross-linkers enhances tear resistance.

The mechanical properties of covalent polymer networks often arise from the permanent end-linking or cross-linking of polymer strands, and molecular linkers that break more easily would likely produce materials that require less energy to tear. We report that cyclobutane-based mechanophore cross-linkers that break through force-triggered cycloreversion lead to networks that are up to nine times as tough as conventional analogs. The response is attributed to a combination of long, strong primary polymer strands and cross-linker scission forces that are approximately fivefold smaller than control cross-linkers at the same timescales.

Elasticity of Slide-Ring Gels.

Slide-ring gels are polymer networks with cross-links that can slide along the chains. In contrast to conventional unentangled networks with cross-links fixed along the chains, the slide-ring networks are strain-softening and distribute tension much more uniformly between their strands due to the so-called "pulley effect". The sliding of cross-links also reduces the elastic modulus in comparison with the modulus of conventional networks with the same number density of cross-links and elastic strands.

Macromolecular Crowding Is More than Hard-Core Repulsions.

Cells are crowded, but proteins are almost always studied in dilute aqueous buffer. We review the experimental evidence that crowding affects the equilibrium thermodynamics of protein stability and protein association and discuss the theories employed to explain these observations. In doing so, we highlight differences between synthetic polymers and biologically relevant crowders.

β-Hairpin Miniprotein Stabilization in Trehalose Glass Is Facilitated by an Emergent Compact Non-Native State.

From stem cell freeze-drying to organ storage, considerable recent efforts have been directed toward the development of new preservation technologies. A prominent protein stabilizing strategy involves vitrification in glassy matrices, most notably those formed of sugars such as the biologically relevant preservative trehalose. Here, we compare the folding thermodynamics of a model miniprotein in solution and in the glassy state of the sugars trehalose and glucose.

Molecular Characterization of Polymer Networks.

Polymer networks are complex systems consisting of molecular components. Whereas the properties of the individual components are typically well understood by most chemists, translating that chemical insight into polymer networks themselves is limited by the statistical and poorly defined nature of network structures. As a result, it is challenging, if not currently impossible, to extrapolate from the molecular behavior of components to the full range of performance and properties of the entire polymer network.

Restructuring a Deep Eutectic Solvent by Water: The Nanostructure of Hydrated Choline Chloride/Urea.

Deep eutectic mixtures are a promising sustainable and diverse class of tunable solvents that hold great promise for various green chemical and technological processes. Many deep eutectic solvents (DES) are hygroscopic and find use in applications with varying extents of hydration, hence urging a profound understanding of changes in the nanostructure of DES with water content. Here, we report on molecular dynamics simulations of the quintessential choline chloride-urea mixture, using a newly parametrized force field with scaled charges to account for physical properties of hydrated DES mixtures.

Properties of Aqueous Trehalose Mixtures: Glass Transition and Hydrogen Bonding.

Trehalose is a naturally occurring disaccharide known to remarkably stabilize biomacromolecules in the biologically active state. The stabilizing effect is typically observed over a large concentration range and affects many macromolecules including proteins, lipids, and DNA. Of special interest is the transition from aqueous solution to the dense and highly concentrated glassy state of trehalose that has been implicated in bioadaptation of different organisms toward desiccation stress.

A Change in ECM Composition Affects Sensory Organ Mechanics and Function.

Proprioception requires the transduction of muscle-generated deformations into sensory neuronal impulses. In proprioceptive organs, the mechanical coupling between the sensory neuron and the muscle is mediated by a connective structure composed of accessory cells and an extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we use the fly chordotonal organ (ChO) to investigate how the mechanical properties of the connective element affect mechanosensing.

Mechanical Communication Acts as a Noise Filter.

Cells can communicate mechanically by responding to mechanical deformations generated by their neighbors. Here, we describe a new role for mechanical communication by demonstrating that mechanical coupling between cells acts as a signaling cue that reduces intrinsic noise in the interacting cells. We measure mechanical interaction between beating cardiac cells cultured on a patterned flexible substrate and find that beat-to-beat variability decays exponentially with coupling strength.

Talking over the extracellular matrix: How do cells communicate mechanically?

Communication between cells enables them to coordinate their activity and is crucial for the differentiation, development, and function of tissues and multicellular organisms. Cell-cell communication is discussed almost exclusively as having a chemical or electrical origin. Only recently, a new mode of cell communication was elucidated: mechanical communication through the extracellular matrix (ECM).

Revisiting Hydrogen Bond Thermodynamics in Molecular Simulations.

In processes involving aqueous solutions and in almost every biomolecular interaction, hydrogen bonds play important roles. Though weak compared to the covalent bond, hydrogen bonds modify the stability and conformation of numerous small and large molecules and modulate their intermolecular interactions. We propose a simple methodology for extracting hydrogen bond strength from atomistic level simulations.

Nonclassical Crystal Growth as Explanation for the Riddle of Polarity in Centrosymmetric Glycine Crystals.

The riddle of anomalous polar behavior of the centrosymmetric crystal of α-glycine is resolved by the discovery of a polar, several hundred nanometer thick hydrated layer, created at the {010} faces during crystal growth. This layer was detected by two independent pyroelectric analytical methods: (i) periodic temperature change technique (Chynoweth) at ambient conditions and (ii) contactless X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy under ultrahigh vacuum. The total polarization of the surface layer is extremely large, yielding ≈1 μC·cm, and is preserved in ultrahigh vacuum, but disappears upon heating to 100 °C.

Properties of Polyvinylpyrrolidone in a Deep Eutectic Solvent.

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are mixtures of two or more components with high melting temperatures, which form a liquid at room temperature. These DES hold great promise as green solvents for chemical processes, as they are inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Specifically, they present a unique solvating environment to polymers that is different from water.

Osmolyte Induced Changes in Peptide Conformational Ensemble Correlate with Slower Amyloid Aggregation: A Coarse-Grained Simulation Study.

Stabilizing osmolytes are known to impact the process of amyloid aggregation, often altering aggregation kinetics. Recent evidence further suggests that osmolytes modify the peptide conformational dynamics, as well as change the physical characteristics of assembling amyloid fibrils. To resolve how these variations emerge on the molecular level, we simulated the initial aggregation steps of an amyloid-forming peptide in the presence and absence of the osmolyte sorbitol, a naturally occurring polyol.

Macromolecular Stabilization by Excluded Cosolutes: Mean Field Theory of Crowded Solutions.

We propose a mean field theory to account for the experimentally determined temperature dependence of protein stabilization that emerges in solutions crowded by preferentially excluded cosolutes. Based on regular solution theory and employing the Flory-Huggins approximation, our model describes cosolutes in terms of their size, and two temperature-dependent microscopic parameters that correspond to macromolecule-cosolute and bulk solution interactions. The theory not only predicts a "depletion force" that can account for the experimentally observed stabilization of protein folding or association in the presence of excluded cosolutes but also predicts the full range of associated entropic and enthalpic components.

Origin of Enthalpic Depletion Forces.

Solutes excluded from macromolecules or colloids are known to drive depletion attractions. The established Asakura-Oosawa model, as well as subsequent theories aimed at explaining the effects of macromolecular crowding, attribute depletion forces to diminished hard-core excluded volume upon compaction, and hence predict depletion forces dominated by entropy. However, recent experiments measuring the effect of preferentially excluded solutes on protein folding and macromolecular association find these forces can also be enthalpic.

Diversity in the mechanisms of cosolute action on biomolecular processes.

Numerous cellular cosolutes significantly impact the way that proteins and other biomacromolecules act and interact. We have followed the thermodynamic effect of several cosolute classes, including polymers, cellular osmolytes, and inorganic salts, on the stability of biomolecular folding and complexation. By comparing changes in free energy, enthalpy, and entropy upon cosolutes addition for these processes, we identify several thermodynamically distinct mechanisms.

Linking trehalose self-association with binary aqueous solution equation of state.

In aqueous solutions, trehalose possesses a high propensity to form hydrogen bonds with water as well as other trehalose molecules. This hydrogen bonding not only affects water structure but also promotes extensive concentration dependent aggregation of trehalose molecules, which may impact trehalose's role as a protective cosolute to biomacromolecules. To study the association of trehalose in aqueous solutions over a wide concentration range, we used molecular dynamics simulations based on two different force fields, as well as vapor pressure osmometry.

The impact of polyols on water structure in solution: a computational study.

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the effect of polyalcohols on water structuring in concentrated solutions, comparing six different polyols that vary in the number of hydroxyl groups and internal structure. For all polyols, we find that the hydrogen bond network order, as assessed by changes in the tetrahedral order parameter, is distorted in the binary solutions as compared with that of pure water and depends on the number of hydroxyl groups and the polyol conformation. While the total number of hydrogen bonds is only slightly reduced relative to that found in pure water, we find that hydrogen bonds that form with polyols tend to be less linear than hydrogen bonds formed between water molecules.